The World Grand Prix starts in Hong Kong on Tuesday. James Cooper has picked out three bets, including in the winning nationality market.
Snooker betting tips: World Grand Prix
2pts Elliot Slessor to beat Stuart Bingham at 11/10 (General)
1.5pts Aaron Hill (+2.5 frames) to beat Mark Selby at 7/5 (Betfred)
1pt China Winning Nationality at 5/2 (Coral, Ladbrokes)
It’s a 5am start our time so Stuart Bingham versus ELLIOT SLESSOR will be watched by the purists only but there’s a chance the layers have the wrong favourite here.
Slessor will have been extremely frustrated to lose from 3-2 up against Ishpreet Singh Chadha in Berlin last week but it has to be said that this season as a whole has been most productive for Slessor given he finds himself eleventh on the one-year list.
Regarded for a while as a high-level tactical and safety player, Slessor has found the necessary improvement in the scoring department in the last couple of seasons, banging in no fewer than sixteen centuries so far this campaign already.
From looking at a major crossroads in his career, Bingham has to his credit bounced back really well in the last year or so.
Runner-up in this in 2025, Bingham also reached the final of the Shoot Out this term and his best game remains a match for anyone.
There are a few more peaks and troughs in the performance levels of Bingham compared to Slessor, though and the man from the North East, who has won deciders in their last two clashes, is taken to edge the battle again at odds-against.
Hill to make Selby work
Arriving at Alexandra Palace as the form player, Mark Selby’s performance came as a pretty big shock, losing 6-2 to Xiao Guodong in fairly meek fashion on the opening evening.
Selby did negotiate his held over match in Berlin but he squandered a 4-3 lead against Xu Si in round two.
The feeling remains with Selby is that there is an air of vulnerability early on in tournaments as when he gets a foothold in an event, he’s extremely difficult to beat in the latter stages.
Step forward AARON HILL, who was a very well-touted junior and while it’s taken him a while to fully find his feet on the tour, he now looks pretty established.
Hill’s form in recent times hasn’t been sparkling (failed to qualify for Berlin and also lost early in the UK Championship and Scottish Open respectively) but the season as a whole has been pretty profitable, reaching the last 16 of tournaments on three occasions.
"Biggest win of his career!" 🔥
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) January 28, 2025
Aaron Hill with his ninth century of the season as he claims victory over Mark Williams 👏#GermanMasters pic.twitter.com/WJOBR9pzZn
Selby leads the head-to-head 3-1 but all but one of those matches were close and on a frame-by-frame assessment of these two, I’d make Hill shorter than the 7/5 available to register at least three frames in this best-of-nine encounter.
Chinese winner worth a bet
Zhang Anda at 40/1 and Wu Yize at 12/1 were both under consideration for outright purposes but it’s been tricky going this season working out which player will peak at the right time so instead, a CHINESE WINNER at 5/2 looks an appealing proposition.
Judd Trump’s dominant win in Berlin was a fifth English winner in a row and with runner-up Shaun Murphy (who played superbly until the final), Mark Selby (Champion of Champions and the UK Championship) and newly-crowned Masters Champion Kyren Wilson to name but four, it’s no surprise on face of it that another winner for England in Hong Kong is a best price of 8/11.
Although the top players are used to it, this is a quick turnaround for Trump and Murphy on travel grounds to the Far East so it wouldn’t be a major surprise were both vulnerable against talented Chinese opponents.
In fact, there are six “Anglo-Sino” first-round matches that may well go a long way to deciding this market.
While it’s very apparent the elite Chinese players are capable on any stage there is a slight advantage to be gleaned playing on home conditions, where generous pockets and humid temperatures can affect how the tables play.
We’re not on the mainland this week but we are close enough and the 5/2 on offer looks an acceptable price.
Posted at 17:20 GMT on 02/02/26
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